Pravah Jaipur Initiative : Inspiring Youth Citizenship

now our blog has a new address ..to reach it click here

2010-03-23T20:59:00.002+05:30

2009-11-18T00:45:00.001+05:30

Pravah Jaipur Initiative and Muskaan
In collaboration with
Taabar and Jawahar Kala Kendra
Invites you to a day of

Inspiration, Creativity, Learning and Fun

Join us in celebrating young people’s contribution to positive social change along with real examples that will help inspire young people to embark on a journey of self to society, and start the process of creating a community of Youth active citizens who can create their own vision of what Jaipur should be like and act on it.

Date: 21st November 2009
Time: 9.00 am– 5.00 pm
Venue: Krishnayan Theatre, Jawahar Kala Kendra

R.S.V.P
Pravah Jaipur Initiative: 0141-4030356, 9983762103 / jaipur@pravah.org

Kafe Mohalla

2009-07-18T22:19:00.006+05:30

"Kafe Mohalla"

A Cafe with a difference ! A Cafe which opens once every fortnight.

A warm and welcoming meeting place for young people to come and develop their idea related to citizenship action.

A Place where you will meet like minded individuals, make new friends and learn about how you can make a difference.

Also, whilst you’re here why not have a bite to eat from the Pravah kitchen!” based on concept of organic and healthy food.

A place where you do not pay but "SHARE" yes share !..

here people who comes in share their ideas..resources.. be it a raw material..utensils..or small donations... u can also contibute in cooking..serving..cleaning and whatever u want...

Come join us ! this monday..3rd August..from 3 pm -7 pm and discover lots more...!

Regards

PJI & Kafe Mohalla

Opening of Youth Cafe - "Kafe Mohalla"

2009-07-14T14:50:00.003+05:30

Launch of Community Video Unit

2009-06-25T03:11:00.003+05:30

Dear Friends

We are happy to inform you that, our Community Video Unit will start its operations from today that is 25th June 2009.

for more details keep visiting this page !

regards

PJI team.

Coming Up - YOUTH CAFE

2009-06-23T10:25:00.001+05:30

This June Pravah Jaipur Initiative is Coming Up with YOUTH CAFE, to know more about Youth CAFE.. just wait for few days and get in touch with us to know more.

Community Video Programme - A New Initiative by PJI

2009-05-05T01:36:00.002+05:30

Pravah is a youth development organization which has been working since 1992, to promote leadership for social justice among young people. Through our work we aim to promote values such as non violence, love, diversity, interdependence, collaboration and sustainable development. Pravah’s work over the past 15 years has been mainly directed towards making a case for youth development. Our core competence lies in developing and facilitating creative and impactful experiential learning initiatives for adolescents, youth, NGOs and other educational institutes. We also support youth startups and other organizations through organizational development and programmatic support. In addition we are engaged in influencing public policy in the field of youth. We are supported in our work through partners all over the country as well as national and international resource organizations such as – The Ford Foundation, Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Wipro, Misereor, National Youth Foundation, Youthreach, Ashoka, Global Fund for Children and Voluntary Service Overseas. Having successfully nurtured a number of initiatives within Pravah as well as within other organizations, we are currently in the process of incubating Pravah Jaipur Initiative- a youth development organization. The details of Pravah Jaipur Initiative are given in the other attachment.

Besides creating an enabling space for young people Pravah Jaipur Initiative is also directly working with young people to inspire them to take on leadership for social justice issues. One of the strategies to achieve the same is the model of Community video unit which we propose to set in Jaipur. It would be one of its kind endeavour in the city through which we would also want to bridge the gap between the youth from the marginalized section of the society and the urban youth. We will inspire youth leadership through Community videos and youth facilitators with our partner Drishti.

Our core activity would be to train local community members in community video production. This training will be conducted by a full time trainer over a period of 18 months to create content related to their lives. The content will be decided by a Community Editorial Board comprising of people who live and work within the community. The content created by the community members will be regularly screened back in the community. The content will reflect the stories of their experiences, their joys, sorrow, struggles, dreams and aspirations in their local dialect or language, through their local cultural art forms and idioms. Thus creating a media owned and controlled by some of the most marginalized and exploited communities in the world.

About our partner DRISHTI

DRISHTI, a media, arts and human rights organization, firmly believe that the future of the media industry is Community Media. The cornerstone of a democracy is a Free Media. India became a democracy nearly 60 years ago yet its media industry remains controlled by a handful of business houses. However, over the last 10 years, a few media professionals, filmmakers, academicians, individuals and organizations have worked tirelessly with the government to truly democratize media. They believe that the core of democratization of media is when media is ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’.

The Community Video Model

The Community Video Unit (CVU) comprises of 8-10 community members who are trained as full-time Community Video Producers. They produce a "Video Magazine" on different social issues every two months. These magazines are screened in around 25 to 30 bastis or villages on widescreen projectors to up to 10,000 people. The video is a tool for us to expand scale and reach, promote awareness and information, and to enable communities to advocate and negotiate with relevant authorities. It also empowers communities with a voice, both locally and globally, when we distribute the videos to the mainstream media. It bridges the literacy barrier and communicates to people in the visual medium they like best. Finally and most importantly it promotes community-led change, through focused discussions and follow-ups with audiences around an "Action Point," in community screenings that often reach the majority of a village or basti.

What is a Community Video Unit?

It is a local production company run by up to 6-10 community members trained in all aspects of video production and distribution.

It has two video cameras, one computer, one TV/VCR and one wide screen projector for outdoor screenings.

It produces multiple videos on a continual monthly basis.

Its videos are seen by up to 10,000 people per month in community settings alone.

It is a partnership between Drishti Media and Pravah Jaipur Initiative.

Solutions-Based Media

Each CVU produces Video News Magazine every six to eight weeks. The content of the Magazine is decided by a Community Editorial Board based on viewer feedback and key campaign issues. Different segments might include:

Community News - the issues of poor communities, such as government schemes, local health issues and upcoming events that are not covered by the mainstream news

Opinion Polls - that capture community consensus and call to action on particular issues

Success Stories - such as families that have found economic success through educating their girls and other local successes.

Short Documentaries – where they provide information and insight on a specific subject, through varying visuals and narration.

Legal Tips – e.g., what to do if your name is not on a voter’s list

Local Culture and Music - could be introductions to the festivals of another community/religion or capturing local performances for wider dissemination.

Expose/video raids - such as short clips of closed government health services followed by an on-the-fly interview with the concerned government officials

Editorial - where the organization and the reporters take their stand-for-change on the issue and give follow up action points

Local humour/jokes/skits - because we need to make people laugh!

How is it seen?

Our strategy is to bring the programs to the same people, each month. It will bean attempt to match the regularity of a news program as opposed to the randomness of documentaries. One person on the team is full-time on distribution. Every month, this community distributor, travels to different places to conduct screenings, leads a discussion, and initiates follow up action.

Local Distribution

Widescreen projection in a village or basti square

Local cable networks

Distribution on VCD/DVDs in self-help groups and NGO networks

National and International Distribution

Our partner Drishti is now working to create opportunities to leverage these voices into the mainstream media by distributing their media on the Internet. They are exploring advocacy campaigns, and starting to work with the mainstream media that is showing a growth in stories from the bottom of the pyramid.

The CVU produces impact at four main levels

It encourages government to take action

The CVU’s premise is that people who know their rights are much more likely to exercise those rights. The videos provide basic legal information, advice on government schemes, and even such simple tips as locations of the local government agencies. Armed with this basic information, local people have the courage and the knowledge to lobby with authority on their own. Government, in turn, is much more likely to carry out its functions properly when it knows it is being watched. The CVU model, therefore, can strengthen democracy by helping fight corruption and by encouraging local people to participate in government.

It encourages local people to take action

All the CVU videos project the message that local people need to take the lead in their own development, and culminate in an ‘action point,’ something concrete and locally do-able. The videos inspire audiences with ‘success stories’ of local people who are making a difference, and the screenings and discussions provide otherwise absent platforms for the community to come together to discuss constructive steps.

It expands the scale and reach of social programs

The CVU screenings draw large crowds—on an average night, between 200 and 300 people, which is sometimes the majority of an area. Many organizations operate on the Self-Help Group model, in which ten to twenty women in that group are an organization’s primary level of contact in that village. The CVU, with its ability to spread messages to much larger group of people, is a very effective parallel strategy for our NGO partners.

It transforms the producers into leaders and activists

Community Producers learn to articulate—and crucially, they learn to articulate on any issue. This addresses a major development challenge today—communities served by NGOs often know how to organize on one issue (say, water, or health) but when a disaster of a different nature strikes, the community lacks the deeper problem-solving skills to address any problem. The CVU provides cross-cutting training in communications, articulation, and analyzing problems that is applicable to any situation.

How Video Creates Change

It communicates in the medium most appealing to people today

It breaks the literacy barrier

It is the most cost-effective way to reach large numbers of people if distributed strategically

It expands an NGOs' reach and scale

It promotes behavior change

TVs and films are present in nearly every village on the planet

It is a powerful tool in education, fundraising, networking and advocacy

It gives a voice to the poor to communicate their needs and knowledge to the outside world

It provides a platform to demand accountability and transparency from those in power

It acts as a forum for communities to discuss critical but unspoken social issues

It encourages 'people's led development', where the call for change is coming from within the community

It develops grassroots leaders and communicators

It provides livelihoods

Community Video Unit

2009-05-05T01:29:00.002+05:30

Empowering Community Voices

DRISHTI, a media, arts and human rights organization, firmly believe that the future of the media industry is Community Media. The cornerstone of a democracy is a Free Media. India became a democracy nearly 60 years ago yet its media industry remains controlled by a handful of business houses. However, over the last 10 years, a few media professionals, filmmakers, academicians, individuals and organizations have worked tirelessly with the government to truly democratize media.

We believe that the core of democratization of media is when media is ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’. This is also the basic principle of Community Media. Community Media is a media that is truly owned, controlled by and accessible to the common people living in remote rural areas, tribal hinterland and urban slums. A media in the hands of community people is the most powerful tool to ‘Empower Community Voices’.

We believe in working with local NGO partners/collaborators to initiate a community video unit within the communities they work with. Our core activity is to train local community members in community video production, building a media and development perspective. This training is conducted by a full time trainer located in the community video unit of the local NGO partner/collaborator over a period of 18-24 months to create content related to their lives. The content is decided by a Community Editorial Board comprising of people who live and work within the community. The content created by the community members is regularly screened back in the community. The content reflects the stories of their experiences, their joys, sorrow, struggles, dreams and aspirations in their local dialect or language, through their local cultural art forms and idioms. Thus creating a media owned and controlled by some of the most marginalized and exploited communities in the world.

The Community Video Model

The Community Video Unit (CVU) comprises of 6-10 community members who are trained as full-time Community Video Producers. They produce a "Video Magazine" on different social issues every two months. These magazines are screened in around 25 to 30 bastis or villages on widescreen projectors to up to 10,000 people. The video is a tool for an NGO to expand scale and reach, promote awareness and information, and to enable communities to advocate and negotiate with relevant authorities. It also empowers communities with a voice, both locally and globally, when we distribute the videos to the mainstream media. It bridges the literacy barrier and communicates to people in the visual medium they like best. Finally and most importantly it promotes community-led change, through focused discussions and follow-ups with audiences around an "Action Point," in community screenings that often reach the majority of a village or basti.

What is a Community Video Unit?

· It is a local production company run by up to 6-10 community members trained in all aspects of video production and distribution.

· It has two video cameras, one computer, one TV/VCR and one wide screen projector for outdoor screenings.

· It produces multiple videos on a continual monthly basis.

· Its videos are seen by up to 10,000 people per month in community settings alone.

It is a partnership between Drishti Media and a local non-governmental organization.

Solutions-Based Media

· Community News - the issues of poor communities, such as government schemes, local health issues and upcoming events that are not covered by the mainstream news

· Opinion Polls - that capture community consensus and call to action on particular issues

· Success Stories - such as families that have found economic success through educating their girls and other local successes.

· Short Documentaries – where they provide information and insight on a specific subject, through varying visuals and narration.

· Legal Tips – e.g., what to do if your name is not on a voter’s list

· Local Culture and Music - could be introductions to the festivals of another community/religion or capturing local performances for wider dissemination.

· Expose/video raids - such as short clips of closed government health services followed by an on-the-fly interview with the concerned government officials

· Editorial - where the organization and the reporters take their stand-for-change on the issue and give follow up action points

· Local humour/jokes/skits - because we need to make people laugh!

How is it seen?

Our strategy is to bring the programs to the same people, each month. By attempting to match the regularity of a news program as opposed to the randomness of documentaries, the aim is to create community ownership and participation in true People Media. One person on the team is full-time on distribution. Every month, this community distributor, travels to 25 villages, conducts night screenings, leads a discussion, and initiates follow up action.

Local Distribution

· Widescreen projection in a village or basti square

· Local cable networks

· Distribution on VCD/DVDs in self-help groups and NGO networks

National and International Distribution

Drishti is now working to create opportunities to leverage these voices into the mainstream media by distributing their media on the Internet. We’re exploring advocacy campaigns, and starting to work with the mainstream media that is showing a growth in stories from the bottom of the pyramid.

How to Launch a CVU of your own:

We welcome collaborations with any NGO working with an empowerment approach with marginalised communities

The CVU produces impact at four main levels

It encourages government to take action

It encourages local people to take action

It expands the scale and reach of social programs

It transforms the producers into leaders and activists

Community Producers learn to articulate—and crucially, they learn to articulate on any issue. This addresses a major development challenge today—communities served by NGOs often know how to organize on one issue (say, water, or health) but when a disaster of a different nature strikes, the community lacks the deeper problem-solving skills to address any problem. The CVU provides cross-cutting training in communications, articulation, and analyzing problems that is applicable to any situation.

How Video Creates Change

It communicates in the medium most appealing to people today
It breaks the literacy barrier
It is the most cost-effective way to reach large numbers of people if distributed strategically
It expands an NGOs' reach and scale
It promotes behavior change
TVs and films are present in nearly every village on the planet
It is a powerful tool in education, fundraising, networking and advocacy
It gives a voice to the poor to communicate their needs and knowledge to the outside world
It provides a platform to demand accountability and transparency from those in power
It acts as a forum for communities to discuss critical but unspoken social issues
It encourages 'people's led development', where the call for change is coming from within the community
It develops grassroots leaders and communicators
It provides livelihoods

Sustainability

The sustainability of the Community Video Units (CVU) is DRISHTI’s top priority and our Research and Training team is working tirelessly towards creating sustainability of these units.

Plans are underway to collaborate with a leading Management Institute in order to conduct research on sustainability. We hope to draw out business plans for each CVU to strengthen the community media initiative.
DRISHTI also provides ‘12-month’ fellowships to support the community producers.
Most of the CVU’s set up in the year 2006, have by now achieved up to 50% sustainability. They have done this by making films for NGO’s just like other professional documentary filmmakers. They also document the events, important activities or rallies conducted by other organizations. Along side this many of our Units have provided video training to members of the community and to the staff of the NGO they work with as well as other NGO’s in the neighbourhood. As our producers belong to the community itself and have successfully challenged all technological barriers, they prove to be excellent trainers.
In keeping with this belief, we have also decided to experiment with training the Community Producers to such a level of expertise that they can become trainers of the new Community Producers. As we upscale and take on new collaborations to set up new Community Video Units, there is a constant demand within the system for new trainers. This demand can be fulfilled by our trained community producers. This will definitely add to the sustainability of the Community Video Unit they belong to. Our first such experiment began in July 2008 with AKSHARA’s Community Video Unit in Mumbai. Recently we have begun training producers of SAATH’s Community Video Unit to provide training to 3 new CVU’s. Our producers say that this has been a great empowering experience for them.

Communities a part of a Global Media Revolution

Typically local communities have been exploited and enslaved by technological hegemonies. This is your opportunity to become a part of the new media revolution across the globe and to share your VOICE and expression within your community as well as with the world.

ANNEXURE 1

Partners and Collaborators in the Community Video Model:

We have collaborated with more than 10 leading NGO’s in India to set up Community Video Units across India. Our collaborators include:

· Akshara, a non-profit working for the rights of women in Mumbai.

· Yuvshakti, a youth network in Gujarat.

· Yuva, a Human Rights non-profit in Mumbai

· Laya, a non-profit working for the rights of the ‘Tribal’ in Andhra Pradesh.

· HIHT, a non-profit which provides local health care in Uttrakhand.

· Saath, a non-profit working for urban poor in Gujarat

· Hindswaraj Mandal, a non-profit which works with the schools following 'Nayee Taleem" based on Gandhian ideology.

· Sahyog- A non- profit, secular organization in Ahmedabad whose primary focus is on long- term development of Vatva area which was severely affected by the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat.

· Udaan- a non- profit education resource center in Gujarat focused on curriculum development, advocacy and training of educators in the values of diversity, equality and citizenship.

In these units, Drishti has trained more than 75 people in the community to create video content on varying issues such as access to basic infrastructure, tribal identity, accessing health care, accessing public distribution systems and celebrating communal harmony. Many of these units are functioning independently today with training and trouble shooting support from Drishti.

ANNEXURE 2

Stories of impact from CVU screenings Until Jan 2008

Drishti along with support from 6 NGO’s set up Community Video Units where media is created by the people, for the people and of the people of the community. Media is just a tool for empowering people to voice their stories and issues so that they become the change makers in their lives and society.

We pen down for you below some stories where this community created content has spearheaded change in the lives of people.

“I don’t want to compare our coverage with that of mainstream media. We do an entirely different thing. We tell untold stories. Stories of people whose lives are rarely covered in the mainstream other than as victims of a train accident or drought. We make films on our community people’s struggles and their success.”

Noor, Community Media Producer

Sakshi Media

Panchmahal, Gujarat

Aishwarya Rai & Abhishek Bachchan are getting married. If you open the papers every day you will read something about this marriage. I want to know why should the papers cover news like this. Why is this marriage so important to us? Why doesn’t television have news for us & about us? That is why Apna TV is different. We have stories about our community and for our community.

Samata Jadhav

Apna TV

Mumbai

While making their first video raid, Sakshi unearthed the story that funds allocated for repairing a flooded artery road for a group of villages in Katu had been scuttled. Even while this group was still making their film on basic infrastructure, government officials started rebuilding this road. The team rushed to film this and the official from the Public Works Department not only promised on screen that they would have this road completely repaired but provide an additional funds of Rs. 300,000 for roads in that area. The team followed up this story and saw it to its successful conclusion.

July 2006

Sakshi Media through their exposes have been successful in bringing doctors back to their local Public Health Clinics and got better roads and irrigation. The local goons of a powerful political party where so threatened by the work of Sakshi that they beat up the producers and the trainers while they were at a local screening. The group, which had 5 women and 3 men, was disbanded after this incident. However in December 2008, Sakshi was revived again albeit with new people. One committed producer still continues on board and the team had just one precious woman producer. They continue to work with commitment for their community.

A small information like ‘blood tests done for malaria should be processed within 72 hours from the time the blood is drawn…’ proved to be life saving for Vishwamma.

August 2006

Manyam Praja Video is based in the forests of Eastern Godawari. Like Vishwamma, most community producers come from the Konda Reddy adivasi community. During the monsoons this area gets completely isolated and cut off because the river swells up and people huddle on the banks and become ready food for malaria! This became one of the most important subjects for their film. Vishwamma learnt this important fact about malaria while she was making this film and managed to save her mother from an overdose of quinine, which could have poisoned her. The films made by Manyam Praja Video are one of the few sources of media available to the tribal communities living in this forest area. People walk for 5 to 8 kilometers to come and attend a film screening by this team. The screenings are made richer with dance and music performed by the local people and the community producers join in. This is true celebration of an old culture through modern means and this is what lays the corner stone of community media as a media for the future.

Every household with BPL ration cards are entitled to 12 litres of kerosene. 600 families belonging to Juhapura in Ahmedabad were successful in getting what was their right after watching a film made by their community members in Samvad Community Video Unit. February 2008

This was the simple truth told by Samvad Community Video Unit in their film on the public distribution system. While filming they stood down the lane from ration shops armed with standardised measuring cans. As women walked out of shops with filled kerosene cans they quickly swung into action to measure just how much kerosene the women had received. Most had got between 8 to 10 litres while they had all signed and paid up for 12 litres. There was not a single woman who had received the full 12 litres entitled! This is a reality well known and accepted by the community, however when juxtaposed with an interview of the Food Controllers officer stating in his official tones, the amount of kerosene people should be getting, then this reality ends up having quite a different colour. Samvad also exposed the truth that Juhapura, now a residential area for the muslims rehabilitated after the 2002 carnage, only received 8 litres of kerosene officially. This was blatant discrimination. Samvad screened this film at the Food Control office and around 600 families of Juhapura today ‘officially’ receive 12 litres kerosene.

Many from the community today openly fight with owners of ration shops so that they get their due.

If you are harassed on the streets, trains, your work place or your home… then speak out. Don’t remain silent. ‘Jor se bol…’

March 2008

This was the subject of a film made by Apna TV in Mumbai. Their film on sexual harassment became a part of a campaign launched by the parent NGO, Akshara. This film was screened in the Mumbai Police Department. It created such a stir and impact that a special dedicated help line was opened and is currently being maintained by the Mumbai Police Department. The team feels especially proud of this achievement as they were directly involved in the screenings and sentitisation workshops conducted for the Mumbai Police. This was even more challenging for them than screening and holding discussions in front of their community. When their film was appreciated, this team of young people felt that they have finally done something truly meaningful for their community and for their city.

January 2008/May 2009

Global Xchange 2009 - Last Date 10th April 09

2009-02-07T12:13:00.002+05:30

Global Xchange is a program conducted in partnership with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO)*. It is a six month long international volunteering program for youth that aims to build mutual respect and understanding in young people, facilitating them to become active citizens in an increasingly global world. The programme seeks to provide young people from diverse cultures with the exposure and opportunity to engage first hand with different communities and the social and developmental issues therein. In the process, the young people learn, develop and share new skills.

The selected volunteers comprise of a team of 18 people: 9 from the UK and 9 from India. The team of 18 is accompanied and supported by two program supervisors who are placed with them for the duration of the 6 month exchange. The team spends three months in a host community in UK followed by 3 months in a host community in India.

Structure of the programme:

The programme is structured around five 'core components' that are the same for the UK and India. They are:

· Counterpart pairs- Volunteers have one counterpart from the exchange country with whom they live. They may also have another counterpart from the exchange country with whom they work.

· Host communities- In both countries, the volunteers live and work in a community that is new to all of them. In India the host community will be in Orissa

· Host homes- Each pair of volunteers will be staying with a family in the host community. Just as we look for diversity in our volunteers and communities, we also encourage variety in our host homes.

· Volunteer placements- Volunteer placements are structured so that the volunteers are able to have maximum take aways about the community and its issues and at the same time make a positive and practical contribution to community initiatives. The placements are chosen such that they respond to the needs of the local community and enable the volunteers to make a tangible contribution.

· Educational activity days (EADs)- EADs are usually held once a week. They are an opportunity for volunteers to come together and engage in active learning about community development issues in each country. Each week, different counterpart pairs run the sessions.

Time Duration:

Actual exchange: 6 months

Trainings prior to exchange: 5 days

Returned Participants Weekend after the exchange

The Xchange will pay for travel, accommodation, food, visas, medical costs, training and an allowance.

SELECTION PROCESS – YfD and Global Xchange

ü YfD and Global Xchange programs are meant for young people in the age group 18-27 years, who have working knowledge of English or Hindi.

ü The complete application forms should reach us latest by February 20th 2009.

ü Short-listed candidates will be called for a telephonic conversation in the month of May.

All those who are short-listed post the phone conversations are invited to the Assessment. The assessment day is mutually beneficial, as it gives both you and us the chance to find out whether or not the program is right for you.

Click here to apply for Youth for Development (English)>>>

Click here to apply for Youth for Development (Hindi)>>>

YOUTH FOR DEVELOPMENT (YfD) 2009 - Last Date 10th April 09

2009-02-07T12:07:00.003+05:30

Youth For Development is a six month long rural internship program offered in partnership with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO)*. The program offers young people the opportunity to develop skills and gain valuable experience in the development sector as well as to contribute to the development issues by interning in an NGO in India. The YfD volunteers receive training, mentoring and a monthly stipend throughout the period of their internship.

A learning opportunity for young people

Yfd would offer an intensive learning opportunity for young people at two levels. At one level, Pravah, along with partner organisations would be involved in design and facilitation of inspiring learning initiatives for these young volunteers, through trainings, structured placement, on line supervision and evaluation. Secondly, the volunteers would undergo experiential and intensive learning through their work placements and interaction with the organisation/community that they are placed with.

Contribution to Communities/Organisations

Volunteers would be recruited, trained and placed in organisations such that they can meaningfully contribute to the work done by these organisations through the duration of their placement.

Time Duration

l Actual Placements: 6 months

· Trainings prior to actual placements: 2 weeks

· Debrief Workshop : 4 days

YfD Volunteer Fundraising

Volunteers must fundraise a minimum of Rs 5000/- towards the cost of their placement. Guidance and support will be given on how to plan and implement your own fundraising activities.

The programme will pay for travel, accommodation, food, medical costs, training and a stipend.

Click here to apply for Youth for Development (English)>>>

Click here to apply for Youth for Development (Hindi)>>>

For more information please call us at (0141) 4030356, 9828222234 or mail us at jaipur@pravah.org

Change Looms 2009 - Last Date 31st March 09

2009-02-07T11:50:00.005+05:30

Change Looms Program

Target Group

Young social entrepreneurs who have launched social ventures at least 6 months ago. These youth projects
must be independent from existing organizations.
Both individuals and teams may apply.

Age Range

17-27 years

Scope

India

Description

Change Looms, an award program, recognizes the exceptional achievements of young people who are actively promoting social change in society. It provides a cash award of Rs. 20000, acknowledgement at a public event,
in-depth capacity building and mentoring from leading social entrepreneurs across the country. Apart from the award, outstanding projects are eligible for a further grant
of Rs. 40,000/-.

Frequency

Yearly

The Change Looms application process, Change
Looms awardees

Contact 0141-4030356, 9828222234, 9983762103, 9928367670

Give Peace A Chance - Fly Peace Kites

2009-01-07T22:30:00.001+05:30

Dear All,
Greetings from Pravah Jaipur Initiative !
In today's fragmented world peace and harmony among the peoples of the World is the first casualty. The sky is the only space that seems devoid of borders that keeps people apart. Romantics, idealists and visionaries have looked up into the heavens for inspiration and the kite is one of the most powerful symbols of man's desire to break free of the shackles of the earth.

Therefore taking idea form Drishti our partners in Gujrat and knowing the fact that on 14th January the world witnesses maximum number of the kites flying in the sky of Jaipur, Pravah Jaipur Initiative is organizing a "Give Peace a Chance – Fly PEACE Kites" an event of flying kites for peace from 9th January to 14th January in Jaipur. There are no political affiliations or agendas; its ordinary people from the city who will get together on these days for 4 hours per day to celebrate freedom and the desire for peace and harmony among all religions and ethnic groups. Our volunteers have written peace messages on kites and we will be flying them from various places in the city

On Fri 9th Jan we plan to start the campaign with an official launch atUMANG "An initiative towards rehabilitation of persons with disability" &Faith. We shall conduct Face painting and Banner painting with children for promotion of Peace. On the remaining days the group will go to various locations in Jaipur to spread the message and involve as many people as possible.
People who wish to participate in this event are welcome to contact us and bring their kites and thread to fly peace kites with us. Kites will also be made available to enable them to participate.
We look forward to your support, and your presence, at Give Peace a chance - Fly Kites for Peace.

For more details contact 0141-4030356, 9828222234, 9928367670, 9983762103
Truly
Vivek

JASHN E JAIPUR - A YOUTH JUMBISH

2008-09-16T16:26:00.000+05:30

Jashn- e- Jaipur: A Youth Jumbish

Why Jaipur?

Our exchange with young people and organizations across the city of Jaipur led us to discover that while Rajasthan is known for its social activism across the world, the young people in Jaipur tend to be very disconnected from this legacy. The city is undergoing a number of changes which is resulting in a lot of turmoil. In terms of aspirations, the city is looking towards Delhi- malls, multi- storied buildings and call centers. Personality development, English speaking classes and tuitions for civil services among others are on the rise. Dealing with this fast paced urbanisation while being rooted in the cultural tradition has created a tough situation for young people. In this fast-paced, competitive world, the locus has somewhere shifted from education for development of character and growing up to become an effective human being, to education that merely equips young adults to do well for themselves alone. This has led to a preoccupation of the young person with his/her own development in exclusion of the rest of society.

Why do we need to work with Young people?
We believe that young people can change the world today. We believe that the young people have great energy and passion which infuses young people with the potential to initiate, actualize and sustain positive change in the world. Every young person has a potential to be a changemaker, all they need is an opportunity to discover that potential.

In a world where every day brings a new headline to add a sense of insecurity and fear, values like trust, love, peace and interdependence are fast giving way to cynicism, and a desire to focus on just self.

In this scenario, many young people who want to engage often hold back (willingly or unwillingly) for fear of being perceived as mad or being labeled as the odd one out. Often they are held back by their immediate families, who feel that this may take them away from their path towards success.

In this process the young people loose a great opportunity to develop as good human beings, who retain their individuality while valuing interdependence and hence connect their self with the larger society. The ability to think and analyse for one self, look beyond what exists, take stances and action, are all skills which are necessary skills for both career and in life and are learnt in the process of becoming an active citizen. Working with young people to inspire them to become change makers and active citizens is therefore imperative to the health of the entire world.

What is active citizenship?
The word citizenship is often viewed solely from the political lens. To many of us it defines the relationship of an individual vis a vis a state.

However, we believe that a citizen is also a denizen of a city, a nation and a world. We have a responsibility as guardians of these common spaces, beyond our homes and institutions.

Citizenship is that, which makes us participative, proactive, and responsible towards society. This citizenship is boundaryless, not defined by state, caste, religion, language.

An active citizen is someone who steps out of the comfort zone of complacency and acts for social change. Values of interdependence and ownership are at the core of active citizenship.

What is Jashn- e- Jaipur: A Youth Jumbish?
The JEJ is going to be a space to celebrate the young changemakers, inspire young people to get engaged and see how the process will benefit both them and the world at large. It will also give them concrete spaces to get involved through volunteering and other means, and put the focus on how it can be cool to be an active citizen. The Festival we hope will also help the society at large see active citizenship as an integral part of education of a young person.

We hope that the spirit of fun, celebration and hope, along with real examples will help inspire young people to embark on a journey of self to society, and start the process of creating a community of Youth active citizens who can create their own vision of what Jaipur should be like and act on it.

What will the Jashn- e- Jaipur: A Youth Jumbish do?
There are many young people wishing to create social change and becoming active citizens in Jaipur. However, they often find themselves in isolation and feel the need for a platform where they could connect with like minded peers, and discover and enhance their potential as change makers.

It is precisely this platform that we want to start building through the Jaipur Youth Festival. With this festival, young people will be inspired to become active citizens by creating their vision of Jaipur, celebrating the work of young active citizens and identifying ways in which they can get involved.

It will also create a case for how getting involved in society gives a space to learn many things including skills which help in developing a good responsible human being which will help in both career and life.

All this of course while having fun, and using interactive and creative methodologies like theatre, music, art, and craft among others.

Some questions that we hope the Big Shout will raise:
- Can Citizenship be more than just a relationship of an individual and a state?
- What are our responsibilities to common spaces beyond our homes and institutions?
- How are our lives connected with those who we have never met?
- What can we do to make love, peace and respect universal values?
- Why is Active citizenship so important?
- How can we move from independence to interdependence?

Vision:
To inspire young people to become active citizens by promoting new thinking and imagination on the theme and recognizing citizenship work done by young people.

Objectives:
- To inspire young people to become active citizens by recognizing and celebrating existing youth citizenship work.
- To create a community of Young active citizens who can engage with social action by helping them identify ways in which they can make a difference through methods such as volunteering.
- To enable young people to make a connection between self and society and make a case for active citizenship as an integral part of an individuals’ education and life.
-

Possible Outcomes:
- 40 young people register to volunteer with different organizations.
- 30 people sign up for exposure trips
- A forum of young active citizens who meet once every month for sharing what they are doing towards the Jaipur that they want and have imagined and sessions by diff orgs as inputs for the same.

Target Group- 15- 25 years

Scope of Impact- Adolescents, Youth and Parents and the larger society.

Process:
The Festival will actually be rolled out in three stages:

Stage One: Pre Event stage
- Connecting with various schools, colleges and organizations as well as individuals and identifying groups who could be interested in the festival. These groups could then be asked to choose a theme. Options could be offered where in the group if they choose could interact with a issues based facilitator and a skills based facilitator to create their presentation. (also connected with the Film fest and exposures).
- Identifying people and groups of youth who are already engaged in cit action.
- Connecting with different organizations and getting them on board for volunteering and interactive stalls.
- Film festival on issues
- Exposures

Stage Two: Event

Stage Three: Post event stage
Follow up
Evaluation
Volunteering
Forum

How can different people/ groups / institutions get involved :

Schools:
- Send children on the day of the event to participate (sections 9 and 11 pref)
- Choose to create a group to perform on day of event- within which
Option a- To choose a theme and devise it on their own
Option b- they ask us to connect them with facilitators on issues and/ or skill
- Host a film screening followed by a session on an issue to engage people in dialogue.
- Hold an internal debates, discussions and sessions, to talk about what is active citizenship and its need.
- Take the children for an exposure (with or without our help)
- Nominate groups/ individuals who have already been engaged in social action (groups who participated in Project Citizen)
- Ask children to create posters, write poetry, and create notice boards in this issue.
- Hold parents – children dialogue on this issue.
- Hold internal sessions on skill building on how to get engaged in society.

Colleges:
- All of the above
- Give us space to mobilize people and invite them to participate even outside of college if the college does not wish to engage directly.
- Nominate students as volunteers for the fest.

NGOs:
- Stalls during the event
- Facilitators for issues and skills- help facilitate the process
- Take on volunteers
- Facilitate exposures
- Volunteer as part of org team
- Share resources
- Help in outreach
- Help in identifying other facilitators and access to young people
- In case youth or adolescent oriented org then all the options as under schools and colleges.
- Developing creative interfaces between school and college students and the communities that they work with.

Artists- Theatre, painters, photography, musicians etc.:
- Help facilitate the process with young people.
- Create pieces on social issues which can be exhibited during the event and even before and after to make people think
- Creative ways of communication through the festival

Media :
- Outreach
- Taking up the issue for public dialoguing

These are some of the ideas that we have on ways in which people can engage

COMING UP THE MOST ROCKING FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR 2008- THE JAIPUR YOUTH FESTIVAL-JASHN E JAIPUR- A YOUTH JUMBISH 8th NOVEMBER 2008

2008-09-08T13:01:00.005+05:30

Proposed Theatre and comics workshop at JEC kukas

2008-07-29T15:34:00.001+05:30

This is to bring the attention to the members of the youth group,the chief coordinator,and the viewers.that me,Rachit,kaushal are seriously planning to conduct a theatre and comics workshop at JEC kukas.our main focus would be on confidence building,extra curricular activity and active citizen ship.tentative time 2nd week of sept.we need help from all of you.let's do it. . .junglistan rocks!!

Article on identity and intolerance

2008-07-21T10:08:00.003+05:30

What do you guys think? Read and comment...

Politics of Identity and Intolerance
Ram Puniyani

On fifth of June (2008) a group of followers of Shiv Sangram Sanghtan (SSS), led by a former MLC of Nationalist Congress party, attacked the house of editor of Loksatta, a prominent Marathi daily, Kumar Ketkar and tried to break open the house. They broke the glass panes, did other possible damage and smeared the house with coal tar, before leaving. They, as per their leader, were expressing their spontaneous anger against Ketkar, who according to them had insulted Shivaji in his editorial. This editorial was a sarcastic criticism of the Maharashtra Government's move to build statue of Shivaji, which will be taller than the one of statue of Liberty, and it will be located in the Arabian Sea, on an island, which will have to be built and an approach to the island will have to be made.

This will involve expenses, which will be in astronomical figures. Ketkar, one of the leading journalist and conscience raiser of society, questioned the wisdom of the Government in planning for such a monument when the state is riddled with so many problems, like farmers suicide, children's malnutrition, unemployment and the like. Ketkar had not once questioned the respect for Shivaji which a large section of Mahrashtrians have. What was surprising was that apart from the attack, some of those posing to be respecting Shivaji, claimed that such an 'inspiring' monument will solve the problems of the state!

What is surprising is that in a state known for its liberal, progressive traditions, the tactics adopted by the likes of SSS have not been the only ones of this type. Earlier we witnessed an attack on Bhandarkar Institute, Pune by similar characters when James Laine's book subtly hinted at the real parentage of Shivaji. Since Laine did his research at this institute. Similarly earlier Shiv Sena had created ruckus when secular activist Teesta Setalvad had prepared a handbook for a school which mentioned that Shivaji was a Shudra.

While this is true, currently the word Shudra is perceived in a derogatory sense so Shiv Sena's ire! As such Shivaji has been invoked to build a particular type of identity. In current times Bal Thackeray in his anti non-Mahrashtrian stance built it up for political gains. The same identity was used to give anti Muslim message, contrary to the fact that Shivaji was not against Muslims, he had innumerable Muslims in his administration, army, Navy and what have you. He also had immense respect for Hazarat Baba Bahutthorwale a Sufi saint.

Contrary to the truth and facts Shiv Sena succeeded in undertaking anti Muslim pogrom and anti Muslim politics to polarize the Hindus, in the name of Shivaji. By and by Mahrashtraian identity has come to be fixed around Shivaji alone, bypassing the glorious heritage of Saints like Tukaram and Chokha Mela, bypassing the doyens of social change like Jotiba Phule and Ambedkar. This bypasses innumerable freedom fighters from Maharashtra and the large groups of rational thinkers also. Shivaji's identity was deliberately picked up by communal forces as there are few instances which if seen selectively, may sound against Muslims and others.

This selective projection has been employed for motivated and crooked political calculations. They have most of the times reaped political harvest by abusing the identity of Shivaji for their political goals. Last few years with the growing neglect of social issues the identity politics is being given exalted importance and so other political formations have also been resorting to the use of this identity politics around Shivaji. With the growth of this comes the intolerance where any criticism, real or perceived against the icons is met with attacks aimed to muzzle the voice of those protesting against some or other policy.

The degree of intolerance is so intense that the attackers are not bothered even about the real social issues, they many a times, even don't read what has been written and merely on the ground of make believe; take the law in their hands to pursue their politics. In Mahrashtra Bal Thackeray did it to a great effect and now other political elements are also doing the same. This type of politics essentially wants to preserve the status quo and distract the attention from basic social issues. Ketkar essentially was urging upon the government to take the basic issues and not to resort to the politics of tokenism. In current times, especially from last two decades the identity politics has been imposed upon the society.

It all began with RSS combine (RC) (RSS and its progeny, BJP, VHP, Bajrang Dal, Vanvasi kalian Ashram etc) throwing up the issue of Ram temple which was to distract the attention from real issues related to caste, gender and workers-Adivasi rights. With Lord Ram being brought forward as symbol of Indian identity the problems of poor were pushed to the back seat and today what we see that now Ram Sethu issue is being presented as the major problem. Emotive, identity related issues have the potential to create social hysteria and so have the power to undermine the real social problems. Now the housing for poor gets substituted by temple for Lord Ram and that's how the agenda of this identity politics can be understood. One recalls attacks on journalists in the aftermath of Babri demolition. One is witnessing today the attacks on those speaking against the goals of divisive identity politics.

While those undertaking such attacks must be punished, the identity politics itself needs to be defeated and the issues related to the people of society need to be put on the forefront of the social agenda. The decade of 1980s saw the transition when the issue based politics was undermined by diverse social processes and vested interests to project their social interests in the name of religion and in the wake of Meenakishipuram conversions of Dalts to Islam, Shah Bano judgement and opening of the locks of Babri mosque heralded the opening of floodgates of identity related issues and politics.

It is not that identity is always counter productive. For the oppressed groups identity around their icons may give them necessary strength to demand for their rights. But that is only in the beginning. Over a period of time, the positive signals get converted into ritualism and the inner meaning is gradually dwarfed. This is what happened with the statues of Dr. Ambedkar. While the dalit politics was struggling to invent new language to ensure their rights, the proliferation of statues of Dr. Ambedkar was accompanied by infinite divisions in the dalit movement. Those who were deeply opposed to the rising dalit assertion and power took this opportunity and came in the field to erect bigger statues while replacing his language of Learn, Organize and Struggle with Social Harmony, Samajik Samarasta.

These statues of Dr. Ambedkar were also deliberately desecrated to create trouble in Dalit areas. Currently large number of temples and statues of Shabri and Hanuman are being installed by RSS affiliate Vanvasi Kalyan Ahsram in Adivais areas to give the subtle message that Adivaisi are to upper caste what Hanuman and Shabri were to Lord Ram. While a lot needs to be understood about Mayawati's politics, from her transition from Bahujan to Sarvajan, from her original dalit stance to collaboration with BJP for some time, her defense of Gujarat carnage and her electoral interventions which may mostly be benefiting the BJP politics, what is undoubted is that while initially she gave a sort of strength to dalits quest for assertion, currently she is more busy with erecting her own statues.

At the same time her stance of sitting on a level higher than her supporters; also indicate the shift from Ambedkar's values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. The complexity of social phenomenon is immense. While those talking in the language of Rights are being marginalized the one's projecting identity and emotive issues are making hay. Attack on Ketkar on this ground has more to say than just freedom of expression, it also reminds us that the type of opinions which could be expressed freely some time ago is a no-no in contemporary times. The best example of this is probably celebrated and currently hounded painter M.F. Hussein. While he drew Goddess Sarswati and many other such paintings in previous decades, the attacks came in last two decades alone. The same paintings were 'discovered' in 90s and he became the target of attacks and forced to leave India.

Case of Taslima also comes fairly close. While not commenting on her understanding of Koran and Islam, one can say that she also had to suffer much more from late nineties till now. The writers, painters and opinion makers are consciously being intimidated and frightened to ensure that merchants of identity politics are able to undermine the issues related to bread, butter, shelter, employment and human rights. And that's what is the agenda of those who unleash the politics of Rath yatras, Gujarat Carnage, beat up Taslima or attack Ketkar. At surface they may sound to be divided along religious lines, but they have a deeper unity, abolish democracy-bring in identity based nation sate.

Why active citizenship?

2008-07-21T10:03:00.001+05:30

Empowering children for active citizenship
Rama Errabelli

I was standing in a queue at a pharmacy, when a man cut the line, and walked confidently up to the counter, stuck his hand out, expecting the pharmacist to fill his prescription. A foreigner, waiting patiently in line for his turn, called out: "excuse me, sir, there's a line here!" To this, my fellow citizen turned around and said: "what line? No line in India, only line in America!" And turned back to the counter.

Extremely embarrassed and offended at the man's response, I walked up to the counter and requested the pharmacist not to attend to him unless he joined the line. The pharmacist firmly requested him to join the line. But when the man pressed on, insisting that "there are no rules in India", the pharmacist gave up and filled his prescription.

Several situations like this have arisen before, but this time the incident really annoyed me. Initially I was concerned about the man's irresponsible response. But as days passed, and I recounted the incident to my family and friends, two things began to bother me. The first was the pharmacist's "let us get this over with and move on" attitude, and the second — no one else in the line objected to the man's disregard for the people waiting their turn.

I was, and continue to be, deeply concerned by this attitude. What makes us so numb that we do not even respond? Is it the "I cannot change him, why should I bother?" attitude or is it "what is the big deal?" Swalpa adjust madi or just "let someone else take care". I believe it is deep-rooted apathy.

How do we teach our children and ourselves that being silent spectators will not solve our problems? How do we confront this apathy and engage as "active citizens" of our society? How do we develop a deep sense of belonging to address the challenges that face us? How do we inculcate respect for our fellow citizens, respect for the society, the nation?

The answer is quite clear. We need to teach our children social and moral responsibility, the idea of citizenship, from an early age. Children have to be empowered with knowledge, skills and values that will guide them into being active citizens. To strengthen the values taught by parents, schools too must teach children — honesty, integrity, fair play, service and respect for fellow citizens. Schools can also play a crucial role in nurturing active citizens by focusing on building skills in children. Skills that will make them confident to effect change. Skills to think analytically, communicate effectively, solve problems and make decisions.

Finally, schools play a key role in empowering children with knowledge, and motivating them to actively engage in the concerns of the society. Children need to be taught their rights and responsibilities, and to understand how the various public institutions like the government functions. Schools can build awareness and sensitise children to important civic issues in their communities, and encourage them to explore solutions to those issues.

One cannot lecture to children on the idea of citizenship. Citizenship values, skills and knowledge can be cultivated only through practice. Classrooms are a perfect place for this learning to take place. Over the past five years, Janaagraha successfully introduced Bala Janaagraha, a practical citizenship education programme for children, to nearly 15,000 children in schools across Bangalore. Through interactive classes and project work children are empowered with the knowledge, skills and values necessary to shoulder the responsibility of citizenship.

If we "sow the seeds of citizenship" in our children today, then, it won't be long before there is a scenario where if a person breaks the queue, every one in the line will protest, the counter in-charge will insist that he will not be served unless he joins the line, and the man understanding what he has done, will graciously move to the end of the line.

(The writer is Coordinator, Bala Janaagraha, Janaagraha)

Career guidence

2008-07-21T01:37:00.001+05:30

This post is in view with the present situation,young guns after 10+2,while choosing a suitable career for them,have a imbroglio as there are thousands of new avenues,through this post i'd like each visitor to give their educational details,how they got the inspiration to go for this course and what are the new avenues,so that we can clear the carrier related doubts of many students

प्रवाह - एक जीवन दृष्टि

2008-07-03T22:06:00.005+05:30

प्रवाह यानी बहाव! कहा भी गया है कि बहता पानी निर्मला। लेकिन क्या यह बात पानी के अलावा मनुष्यों के विचारों और उसकी सोच पर भी उतनी ही लागू नहीं होती? विचारों के बहते रहने और उनके निर्मल बने रहने का क्या कोई सीधा संबंध है? एक युवा होने के नाते मुझे यह बात बहुत महत्वपूर्ण लगती है कि इस उम्र में हम अपने विचारों का निर्माण अपने आस पास के समाज से ही करते हैं और यह हमारी ‘जीवन दृष्टि’ के निर्धारण का एक और महत्वपूर्ण पड़ाव होता है। आस-पास की घटनाओं और लोगों के बारे में हमारी राय एक बदलाव भी बन सकती है यदि हम उसे बनाना चाहें। फुटपाथ पर सोने वाले लोगों, वंचित समुदायों या फिर विस्थापन की दरिद्रता सभी लोगों के लिए एक जैसी संवेदना पैदा नहीं कर सकती। यह संवेदनाएं पैदा भी नहीं होती बल्कि यह हमारे विचारों का हिस्सा होती है जो रह-रह कर फूटती रहती है।
प्रवाह जयपुर इनिशिएटिव एक पहल से कहीं ज्यादा एक ‘जीवन दृष्टि’ का विचार है जो हमको हमें अपनी सोच और नजरिये को निरंतर परिष्कृत कर उसे निर्मल बनाये रखने के लिए अवसर प्रदान करता है। अब तक बने बनाये नजरियों से आगे बढ़कर स्वयं की सोच और रचनात्मकता को अपने भीतर देख पाना और निरंतर सीखते रहने के लिए प्रोत्साहन उसका एक अभिन्न अंग है। समाज को सीखाने से कहीं ज्यादा उससे सीखने का उत्साही कदम बढ़ाने वाले युवाओं के एक प्रवाह की जरूरत आज समाज में दिखाई देती है। हममें से कितने लोग इसके लिए आगे आते हैं और एक नई बहस हमारे भविष्य और सामाजिक सरोकारों को कितना निर्मल करती है यह प्रश्न हम सभी को मिलकर हल करना है।

Gopal Singh
Commutineer

Be the Change, you want to see in the World- M.Gandhi

2008-07-02T17:23:00.001+05:30

What is Pravah and Pravah Jaipur Initiative?

About Pravah:

Pravah is a youth development organization which has been working since 1992, to promote leadership for social justice among young people. Through our work we aim to promote values such as non violence, love, diversity, interdependence, collaboration and sustainable development. Pravah’s work over the past 15 years has been mainly directed towards making a case for youth development. Our core competence lies in developing and facilitating creative and impactful experiential learning initiatives for adolescents, youth, NGOs and other educational institutes. We also support youth startups and other organizations through organizational development and programmatic support. In addition we are engaged in influencing public policy in the field of youth. We are supported in our work through partners all over the country as well as national and international resource organizations such as – The Ford Foundation, Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Wipro, Misereor, National Youth Foundation, Youthreach, Ashoka, Global Fund for Children and Voluntary Service Overseas

For more information on our organization and programmes please visit www.pravah.org and www.younginfluencers.com.

The Pravah Jaipur Initiative

Background:

Pravah’s engagement with youth and civil society organizations in Rajasthan can be traced back to its own inception. The initial support for setting up Pravah came from organizations like SWRC, Tilonia, Urmul and Sankalp and subsequently we had the privilege of relating with many other grassroots organizations in the region. We have been hugely inspired by these social change endeavours and exchanges.This inspiration led us to the desire to look for ways to deepen these engagements in order to strengthen the field of youth development.

Our exchange with young people and organizations across the city of Jaipur led us to discover that while Rajasthan is known for its social activism across the world, the young people in Jaipur tend to be very disconnected from this legacy. The city is undergoing a number of changes which is resulting in a lot of turmoil. In terms of aspirations, the city is looking towards Delhi- malls, multi- storied buildings and call centers. Personality development, English speaking classes and tuitions for civil services among others are on the rise. Dealing with this fast paced urbanisation while being rooted in the cultural tradition has created a tough situation for young people. In this fast-paced, competitive world, the locus has somewhere shifted from education for development of character and growing up to become an effective human being, to education that merely equips young adults to do well for themselves alone. This has led to a preoccupation of the student with his/her own development in exclusion of the rest of society.

It is not that young people wishing to create social change and becoming active citizens are non existent in Jaipur. They do exist, but what appears to be absent is a platform where the young people could discover and enhance their potential as change makers.

Having successfully nurtured a number of initiatives within Pravah as well as within other organizations, we are currently in the process of incubating Pravah Jaipur Initiative- a youth development organization. This organization aims to create precisely this platform in the form of a Youth Resource Centre.

Vision:

Building leadership for social change and justice among young people in Jaipur by building with and in youth:

- Respect and understanding of citizenship=

- Attitude of ownership for common spaces,

- Skill of leadership for social change, and

- Behaviours to develop strong relationship as the foundation

About the Pravah Jaipur Initiative:

The Youth Resource Centre will create a knowledge bank of various programmes, and opportunities for young people. From fellowships and awards to recognise those who have already undertaken citizenship action to those who would like to explore the arena. The centre will seek to connect young people to the relevant opportunities by helping the latter access them.

The centre will do this by offering the following:

a) Creative Media fellowships for youth development: to encourage the use of creative media such as theatre, art, comics, writing, photography, music and sculpting in this field. These will be offered in both urban as well as rural spaces and both in monetary and non- monetary forms.

b) National and international learning opportunities in the form of workshops, seminars, fellowships, awards, internships, exposures, and volunteering placements.

c) Capacity building workshops with adolescents and youth and organizations engaging youth in different ways, including schools, colleges and NGOs.

d) Creating public platforms in partnership with other organizations for youth engagement through Youth Festivals, youth clubs, volunteering placements, skill and issue meetings, and exposure and internship opportunities.